43 primates on the loose in South Carolina town after escaping from research lab
Yemassee Police Department via Meta
(YEMASSEE, S.C.) — At least 43 primates were on the loose Thursday in a South Carolina town where authorities “strongly advised” residents to keep their doors and windows locked after the animals escaped from a research laboratory.
“At this point, none have been captured,” the Yemassee Police Department said in a statement posted on its Facebook page.
Traps were being set around the Alpha Genesis Primate Research Center in Yemassee, where the Rhesus Macaque monkeys escaped en masse around 9:45 p.m. ET on Wednesday, according to the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office.
Yemassee police officers were searching for the furry fugitives, which can grow to up to 21 inches tall and weigh 17 pounds, using thermal imaging cameras, according to the sheriff’s office.
“Residents are strongly advised to keep doors and windows secured to prevent these animals from entering homes,” the sheriff’s office said. “If you spot any of the escaped animals, please contact 911 immediately and refrain from approaching them.”
Police said they are working with staff of Alpha Genesis Primate Research Center to find the escapees.
“We want to assure the community that there is no health risk associated with these animals,” police said.
Representatives of the Alpha Genesis Primate Research Center could not be immediately contacted for comment.
According to its website, Alpha Genesis “provides the highest quality nonhuman primate products and bio-research services world-wide,” including serum, plasma, whole blood and tissue samples.
(LOS ANGELES) — Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón has recommended resentencing for Lyle and Erik Menendez, who are each serving two life prison terms without parole.
“We are going to recommend to the court [on Friday] that the life without the possibility of parole be removed and they would be sentenced for murder,” which would be a sentence of 50 years to life, Gascón said at a news conference Thursday. But because of their age — they both were under 26 at the time of the crimes — they would be eligible for parole immediately, he said.
“I believe that they have paid their debt to society,” he said.
“The final decision will be made by the judge,” he stressed.
Gascón told ABC News this month that any recommendation for resentencing would take into account the decades that the brothers already served and their behavior in prison. The brothers’ attorney, Mark Geragos, called them model prisoners who worked tirelessly to reform themselves with no expectation they’d be released.
The decades-old case began on Aug. 20, 1989, when Lyle and Erik Menendez fatally shot their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, in the family’s Beverly Hills home. Lyle Menendez, then 21, and Erik Menendez, then 18, used shotguns they bought days earlier.
Prosecutors alleged the brothers killed their wealthy parents for financial gain.
The defense argued the brothers acted in self-defense after enduring years of sexual abuse by their father.
Their first trials — which captured the nation’s attention with cameras in the courtroom — ended in mistrials.
In 1996, at the end of a second trial — in which the judge barred much of the sex abuse evidence — the brothers were convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to two consecutive life prison terms without the possibility of parole.
The sensational case gained new attention this fall with the release of the Netflix drama “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” and the Netflix documentary “The Menendez Brothers.”
Gascón said this month that his office was evaluating new evidence: allegations from a member of the boy band Menudo who said he was molested by Jose Menendez, and a letter Erik Menendez wrote to a cousin eight months before the murders detailing his alleged abuse.
Erik Menendez’s cousin testified about the alleged abuse at trial, but Erik Menendez’s letter — which would have corroborated the cousin’s testimony — wasn’t unearthed until several years ago, according to Geragos.
“Their actions, while tragic, were the desperate response of two boys trying to survive the unspeakable cruelty of their father,” Kitty Menendez’s sister, Joan Andersen VanderMolen, said. “As their aunt, I had no idea of the extent of the abuse they suffered.”
“It’s time to give them the opportunity to live the rest of their lives free from the shadow of their past,” she said.
Behind bars, the siblings “sought to better themselves and serve as a support and inspiration for survivors all over the world,” added Jose Menendez’s niece, Anamaria Baralt. “Their continued incarceration serves no rehabilitative purpose.”
The brothers “deserve a chance to heal, and our family deserves a chance to heal with them,” Baralt said.
Despite the massive show of support, one relative — the brothers’ uncle, Milton Andersen — is adamant about keeping them behind bars. He said in a statement he firmly believes his nephews were not sexually assaulted and were motivated by greed.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(RICHMOND, Va.) — A former nurse who was employed at the Henrico Doctors’ Hospital in Richmond, Virginia, was charged on Friday with malicious wounding and felony child abuse for allegedly intentionally injuring an infant at the hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).
Erin Elizabeth Ann Strotman of Chesterfield County was charged with one count of felony child neglect which carries up to 10 years in prison, as well as one count of felony malicious wounding for an injury sustained by an infant which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, according to Henrico Commonwealth Attorney Shannon Taylor, whose office is prosecuting this case.
The charges are connected to an incident that allegedly occurred on Nov. 10, 2024.
According to WRIC, the ABC affiliate in Richmond, Strotman was arraigned on Friday.
Public defender Scott Cardani, who is representing Strotman, told ABC News on Tuesday that she has not yet entered a plea and he declined to comment on the charges. According to court records, Strotman’s next hearing is scheduled for March 24, 2025. She was denied bond, according to Taylor’s office, and was ordered by the court to not have any contact with children under the age of 18.
Taylor told ABC News on Tuesday that while Strotman was charged in connection to a single incident, the investigation is ongoing and law enforcement officials have so far identified seven potential victims, but added that the number could increase.
“Thus far, we have four babies identified from 2023 and three babies identified from 2024,” Taylor said. “However, both Henrico Police Division and myself have made public statements encouraging families to reach out if they believe that their babies were impacted. Thus, this number may increase.”
Taylor said that her office has been in touch with the families who have been identified so far, but officials did not name the alleged potential victims involved in this case.
According to the Henrico Police Department, law enforcement officials began to probe this case after the Henrico Doctors’ Hospital launched an internal investigation into “unexplained fractures” sustained by babies in the hospital’s NICU from 2023 to 2024.
“All of the previously closed cases related to these incidents have been reopened as part of the recent broader investigation,” Henrico Police said in a statement on Dec. 31 2024. “All of the families involved in this current broader investigation have been notified, to include those from 2023.”
Dominique Hackey, a father of twins, told WRIC in an interview published on Jan. 1 that his son Noah’s case is one of those that has been reopened.
“We want to make it clear that Noah didn’t have a bone disease. It wasn’t accidental. It wasn’t from his birth,” Hackey said. “Somebody did this to our son and we’re going to find out who did this.”
As this case gained national attention, the Henrico Police Department dispelled rumors that the alleged victims were targeted based on their racial identity, telling ABC News in a statement on Tuesday those allegations are “not factual” based on the “preliminary investigation.”
Henrico Chief of Police Eric D. English said that police recognize that this case has generated feelings and emotions, but asked the public for “patience as our detectives work to investigate every piece of evidence in connection to these cases.”
As part of the investigation, police said that they are reviewing dozens of videos from inside the NICU as they pursue a wider investigation with the assistance of Henrico’s Child Protective Services (Department of Social Services), the Henrico County Commonwealth Attorney’s Office, Virginia State Police, the Virginia Department of Health and the Office of the Attorney General.
A spokesperson for the Henrico Police Department confirmed to ABC News on Tuesday that the investigation is ongoing.
Henrico Doctors’ Hospital announced on their website that the hospital’s NICU is “not admitting new patients” at this time.
“We have been assisting law enforcement in their ongoing investigation and will continue to do so. Any media questions or inquiries about that investigation should be directed to law enforcement,” the hospital said in a statement on Jan. 3. “We are both shocked and saddened by this development in the investigation and are focused on continuing to care for our patients and providing support to our colleagues who have been deeply and personally impacted by this investigation.”
ABC News reached out to a hospital spokesperson for further comment.
(COLUMBUS, Ohio) — Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has signed a transgender bathroom ban for students into law.
The law requires students in the state’s K-12 schools, as well as colleges and universities, to use the restroom or facility that aligns with their sex assigned at birth.
The law notes it is not intended to prevent schools from building single-occupancy facilities and does not ban someone of the opposite gender from entering to help another person.
Ohio joins at least 14 other states in banning transgender people from using bathrooms that align with their gender identity, according to the Human Rights Campaign.
Supporters say the ban eases concerns about student’s privacy and protection. Critics of the bill say it creates unfounded fears about transgender students and may instead put trans students in danger of discrimination or violence.
DeWine’s office previously declined ABC News’ request for comment ahead of the bill’s signing. He told reporters this past summer that he has to look at “specific language” in the legislation.
“I’m for people, kids, to be able to go to the bathroom with the gender assignment so that they have that protection, but I’ll have to look at the specific language,” DeWine told reporters.
Transgender health care, bathroom access, sports participation and more have been a key focus for Republican legislators nationwide in recent years — a wave that has prompted hundreds of anti-LGBTQ bills in the 2024 legislative session alone, as tracked by the American Civil Liberties Union.
DeWine has gone against state Republican legislators on transgender issues in the past. He vetoed a transgender youth care ban bill in December 2023, which would have restricted gender-affirming puberty blockers, hormone therapy or surgeries.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
